Repentance
by Bronzequill
Summary: The Rebellion has failed. Katniss Everdeen is dead. The Hunger Games are more brutal then ever. Join 24 unique tributes as they battle not only each other, but a government determined to prevent another Rebellion. (Rated T for mild language and some violence, it is the Hunger Game! Also some mature content. Tell me if you think the rating should be higher though)


**District 1 Tribute Victoria Dusk (12) POV:**

"Welcome, welcome." Victoria gazed up at District 1's escort with a sense of restlessness. Her feet were sore from this morning's training, she was tired from staying up too late just to chat with her brother and she couldn't wait until this whole thing was over.

"As always ladies first!". With a jolt Victoria realised that it was already time for the first tribute to be called. As she watched the escort claw around for a slip and ever so slowly remove it from the safety of the bowl she could practically feel the tension surrounding her. Although there were always seventeen and eighteen year olds eager to prove themselves in the games a reaping was an event where anything could happen, as was about to be proven when the name "Victoria Dusk" reverberated through the expectant crowd.

Of course a twelve year old being reaped was not an unheard of occurrence and they were nearly always replaced. Yet as she ascended the steps towards the podium, passing the glorious Victors and the tributes so clearly preparing themselves for when it would be appropriate to volunteer Victoria felt a curious sensation. And as the escort asked the question everybody had been waiting for, and the six volunteers inevitably thrust themselves forward Victoria felt, with a thrill of horror, that very same sensation pushing her towards the microphone. And as she requested to keep her place as tribute it was her twin brother's eyes which she sought out amongst the crowd. _'Perhaps every twin feels the need to separate themselves at some stage?'_ she wondered, as it was now very clear to her that by becoming the first ever twelve year old Victor she would be gaining something much more valuable then money or mansions; she would finally be gaining an identity.

 **District 1 Tribute Emerald Dusk's (12) POV:**

There are certain rules governing the Reaping in District 1. If a tribute was to break these rules then they would perhaps be better off dying in the arena then facing a life of exclusion back home.

What Victoria did certainly toed the line. The reason the crowd is still clapping is most likely due to the inherent reasoning that in District 1 it is everyone's firm belief that if you are offered the chance to compete then nobody should withhold that chance from you.

At least these were Emerald's thoughts as he locked eyes with his other half who was now standing quite confidently on the stage.

With the morning sun still not having reached it's peak Emerald found himself grudgingly admitting that his sister was starting to look the part of the perfect Victor. With her long blonde hair stirred ever so slightly by the light breeze and her now casual, almost bored stance, the sun's illumination simply helped to impress upon them all the image of the Victor she could be.

As if to rid himself of the image of his regal sister standing before him Emerald felt himself run his hands through his soft, almost silky hair, as if to remind himself that it was still his twin standing up on that stage. His twin who would soon be going to her death.

By this time the escort had reached the second ball. As he drew in breath and prepared to announce the second name the crowd once again collected their breath. "Topaz Monroe" the escort announced with a self satisfied flourish, and Emerald turned his head to watch a boy casually stroll out of the sixteen year old section. The boy finished his ascent and decided to simply stand on the stage and wait. Immediately every district member took this as a sign for volunteers to come forward. As Emerald was in the twelve year old section he had the good luck of being one of the closest to the stage, and thus had a decent head start up the stage, where he took his place and announced that he would like to volunteer.

 _'No matter what you had planned sis, I'll always be there to protect you, whether you asked me to be or not'_ Emerald thought. As he turned to lock eyes with his other half he saw, not sadness or shock as he had expected, but what could only be described as deepest disgust. Surprised and slightly hurt, he instead turned to face the crowd, who had once again started their muttering and clapping.

 _'The reason they're even accepting me as a tribute is because of Victoria. But then again, she's the reason we're here in the first place'_ Emerald thought grimly.

 **District 2 Tribute Brianna Hayes (17) POV:**

"District 2 are you ready?" The mingled responses of hell yeah, of course and yes were clearly not enough for their escort as his slight pout clearly indicated. However when the resulting cheers came from his second attempt the apparent smirk of satisfaction allowed him to continue with his performance.

As he finally moved over to the girls bowl Brianna couldn't help but wish for the whole thing to be over and done with. It was currently 33 degrees and with so many people crowded together the temperature only felt as though it was rising. Plus, once this was all over everyone could finally admire her new dress. Whether it was on the stage or down in the woods there would surely be plenty of guys, and possibly even some girls for her to have a good time with.

Brianna had been looking forward to this day for months. Actually she always did. But this year it was special. This year she was 17, which meant she had enough training to attempt to volunteer as tribute. If she succeeded she could go on to win the Hunger Games, the annual competition which created rich, heroic celebrities. If she didn't make it today then she would go to the annual pre-Hunger Games party with her friends down by The Nut woods.

"Your female tribute for the 60th Hunger Games is… Terra Hayes!" As the words left the escort's lips Brianna locked both eyes and hands with her sister. All around them girls had already begun to volunteer but Brianna never let go as her sister purposely led her to the stage. As they ascended the steps the voices died down as everyone finally understood and when Terra held her hand out for the microphone there was such authority in her actions that nobody could doubt who the district tribute would be.

"My name is Terra Hayes. Today I was chosen as the district 2 tribute. However I believe my sister may have something to say about that." As Terra solemnly passed Brianna the microphone she felt the briefest flash of doubt. Should she really volunteer for her sister? Or should she have left it to one of the hundreds of other girls who also wanted it? But as quickly as the fear had come it was gone and replaced with the same resolve she had felt all morning. She would uphold both her district and her family's honour and come home a gorgeous victor.

District 2 takes pride in volunteering for their family members, thereby proving that although their siblings may be too weak just yet to prove themselves in the Hunger Games this does not mean that their family is weak, like other districts who leave their youngest to face a competition where they have no hope of winning. So Brianna stepped forward, elegantly received the microphone from her sister and, with a nod of her head, declared her intent to volunteer for the Hunger Games.

 _'I guess my dress was destined to be on display to the whole nation'_ Brianna grinned to herself as the applause finally died down.

 **District 2 Male Zander Stone's (17) POV:**

Oh God, it's that Brianna girl. Zander would be lying if he said that he wouldn't be sad to see her go. As a frequenter of the Nut Woods parties she was always known to be up for a good time. Now, if she won she would surely be too good for them, and if she lost she wouldn't ever get the chance to party with them again.

He would also be lying if he said that she was unattractive. One of the main rules of the Nut Wood parties was that anyone invited had to be hot enough to fuck, which was why Zander's sister, although being a year older then him, was never invited, a fact which always filled him with sweet satisfaction. Yet it was also usually their group who were picked for the Hunger Games.

As their escort proceeded to move over to the male's jar Zander only hoped that Dax wasn't chosen or was stupid enough to volunteer. After all who else would he hang out with? Most other boys his age were stupid or horny, sometimes both. So as their escort slowly pulled a name out of the male bowl he almost forgot that there was a chance that he would be picked. He was quickly reminded when his name echoed around the square. Oh shit, that was his name echoing around the square.

Zander hurried to fix his face into what he hoped was a neutral expression. The walk up onto the stage felt like a lifetime. Although boys were already calling out as volunteers he knew that to allow them to take his place would be social suicide. So Zander merely walked over to Brianna, accepted her iron grip of a handshake, and thanked their escort.

 **Ledly and Kaylah Panel's Father's (12) POV:**

Magnet was crying. He was letting the tears flow for anyone who cared to look. Usually he would turn to his wife for comfort, but as she was currently passed out in his arms that didn't seem to be the smartest course of action. Instead he gazed upon his children, standing on the stage with faces that mirrored his own.

"God dammit, will nobody volunteer?! You're cowards, every last one of you!"

Although a few children turned to angrily stare him down the majority attempted to hide their faces, and the shameless guilt painted on each and every one of them.

Even in his grief Magnet understood. Every child of District 3 knew that to be reaped was to be signed up for death. And as every rational child understood, the odds were not in their favour. Therefore Magnet returned his gaze to the two lights of his life for what he knew would be one of their last hours together.

Ever since they were born Ledly and Kaylah had been inseparable. They would make such a fuss about being in separate classes that the teachers eventually gave in and appointed them to be together. They would laugh at the same things and if one was sad the other would instantly be moved to tears before they even knew the reason. And now it seemed that fate had decreed that they would stay inseparable, even at deaths door.

Magnet only prayed that it would be quick.

 **District 4 Female: Lily Reed's (18) POV**

Lily simply couldn't stop giggling. She had been chosen as tribute, and she would win the Hunger Games! She was so happy she could sing. As soon as the thought crossed her mind she immediately understood that this was the best course of action. She therefore proceeded to snatch the microphone off of it's holder and introduced herself to her impromptu audience.

"Good morning District 4! I am your official tribute and because I am currently in charge of the stage I shall perform my favourite song for you. It's called ring around a rosie and I hope you like it as much as I do!"

After a while she found that the microphone was rudely snatched from her. The escort, whose name was either Cassidy or Chastity she was sure, was the current cause of her problem.

"Ok dear I think we get the point. You're obviously very excited for the games, and who could blame you. But your spotlight has to be shared, at least until you win. So how about we move on and choose your partner, hmm?"

She did make a good point. The sooner her partner was chosen the sooner the games could begin, and the sooner she could kill him, and the sooner she could be crowned Victor and force everyone to listen to each and every single one of her songs.

"Ok" Lily agreed with a smile and an impatient little wave.

 **District 4 Male: Mako King's (18) POV**

Good God that Lily chick is annoying. If I wasn't 18 I would honestly wait another year just so I wouldn't have to put up with her as a district partner. But as it was she would have to do.

At least she was a murderess in the making.

Mako made a point of studying his competition, especially in the last year, and her skill with a trident was beyond impressive. Combined with her passion for personally spearing the day's catch all by herself and Mako was certain that the ditzy exterior was in the least an act, or at the most was simply hiding the sadist within. Which was why he ultimately ascended the stage with mixed emotions.

Mako hadn't bothered with a shirt today, therefore he enjoyed the adoring gaze of his district's entire teenage girl population. He also noticed a few starstruck glances from the males, which of course only made him prouder.

Mako had decided long ago that shirts were overrated and just because it was Reaping day didn't mean he had to change his philosophy. He noted that there weren't many complaints.

"Hey sexy, looks like it's you and me."

May as well start on her now. After all crushes always made defeat come that much easier.

" _Teehee_ , call me that again and I'll slit your throat before we even begin" Lily informed him, with her smile as genuine as before.

"Funny, I didn't think knives were really your style." Watching her face create possibly the cutest pout he had ever seen Mako reviled in his first brief victory.

"Hmm I guess you're right. How would you feel about being speared to a wall?"

"Well sweetheart I would take comfort in knowing that you haven't changed a bit." Hmm, maybe she was more bearable then he initially surmised. One thing was for sure, these Games were already shaping up to be interesting.

 **District 5 Male: Newton Jones (18) POV:**

Newton's eyes twitched in the feeble afternoon sun. Newton had been on the night shift at the power plant and thus had received next to no sleep before he was forced to wake and dress.

Ever since he had turned 18 and was finally able to get a job which provided him with a decent wage Newton had been taking as many shifts as he could. His hope was that he would soon earn enough to comfortably look after his family week by week. Only then would he slack off on shifts. But until that gap was covered Newton had vowed to continue doing these ungodly shifts.

Actually speaking of his family he probably should go and find them before the Reaping. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind did Volt come careening into him.

"Hey little man, where's everyone else?"

"Newton! Everyone is already in their spots, I just wanted to come over and say hi beforehand."

"Well now you have little bro. Shouldn't we be doing the same and getting into position?"

As soon as the words were out of Newton's mouth he half regretted them. It would be awesome if Volt could stand with him through what was certainly the worst day of the year, and the look on his face only made Newton want to suggest it even more. But there were rules to follow and this was one of them.

"Don't worry little man I'll see you soon. We just have to listen to a few boring speeches and then we're free for the rest of the day!"

"Even you Newton?!"

"Heck yeah, your big bro isn't working tonight so I can party with everyone else!"

As he was talking Newton watched Volt's eyes become larger then what he considered to be physically impossible. There were only one or two stragglers passing them now so the ceremony was surely about to begin.

"Ok Newt I'll see you after and we'll have the best party ever!" Volt gabbled before racing off to his place in the 13 year old section. Just before he was out of sight Volt seemed to remember something. Turning around he shouted "and stop calling me little man!" then continued to race away before Newton had a chance to respond.

"Hey kid, are you signing in or what?" An approaching peacekeeper snapped Newton out of his thoughts.

"Y-yes of course" he stammered before passing his finger over to be marked. He then calmly took his place among the 18 year old boys.

This is it, he thought, my last ever Reaping. Newton allowed his fantasies to briefly run wild. Images of him partying with his family, then later on that night with his friends floated across his vision leaving him with an almost stupid smile on his face. Because this was the worst day of the year it also had the biggest celebrations. And this year he was invited to the best in the district, the party thrown by the 18 year olds graduating from their final Reaping. In fact these thoughts were so sweet that the Escort had to call his name twice until he finally heard her. But everyone else had heard her, and like a cake cut down the middle every eligible child was parting to make a clear path up to the stage for him.

Once he noticed the Escort's eyes boring into his own that happy grin vanished, to immediately be replaced by one of pure horror. Even worse, he felt tears threatening to fall.

However Newton was fairly sure that his hammering heart was caused by the stares of the crowd. Being above average height and 18 years old he towered over all the eligible children, which only helped to distract and terrify him.

He suddenly found himself on the stage, felt rather then saw his fellow tribute being chosen and finally came to in a small, neat room which must surely have been inside the Justice Building. No sooner had he collapsed into his chair did his brother and two sisters rush in. Newton noticed that both Techa and Nina's eyes were streaming but that was all he could notice as Volt's small body careened into his tall, lanky one.

"Please don't go, just run away with us and they'll never be able to get you." Volt moaned into his leg.

"Or I could do the easier thing and just win these stupid games and come home."

"But you're not strong enough" Volt wailed. If the situation wasn't so tense Newton could have laughed.

"You know brute strength isn't everything in these Games. You usually need a decent head on your shoulders, and I'm pretty confident in mine."

"So you promise?"

Newton eyed his younger brother with the most serious face he could create. "I promise. And you know I've never ever broken a promise."

"Just make sure you don't start now, ok?"

"Ok" Newton replied with as much confidence as he could manage. Suddenly Techa stepped up to him.

"Make sure you come back ok? I don't know what we'll do without you" she muttered and quickly embraced him.

All too soon the Peacekeepers came in and lead his family out of his life for what may be the final time.

"I promise" Newton shouted as they disappeared from site.

Almost immediately they were replaced by most of his work colleagues. Even Isaak, a man Newton had only spoken to a few times at most, had come along. With tears in his eyes Newton eyed his best friend Atom, who could be the only possible source of this.

"They didn't take much persuasion mate" Atom said in response to the unspoken question.

And for the first time in his life Newton engaged in a group embrace, with what could only be described as his second family. The lads whom he shared every shift with had come to mean more to him then he had realised.

"Don't worry mate we'll keep your office chair warm for ya" Atom grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Hey if I come back you can have it, no matter how this ends I won't be needing it any more" Newton spoke his train of thought out loud.

Immediately the air felt cold.

"You mean when you come back. And I'll take you up on that offer then" Isaak finally broke the silence and earned himself a group chuckle.

Before long Peacekeepers were in to take them all out but Newton was ok with it. Now that he had a glimpse of all that he would miss, he was simply eager to finish this damn contest and get on home.

 **District 5 Female: Joulie Atoms' (16) POV:**

Joulie waddled onto the stage. Her thoughts weren't clouded by the fact that she was almost certainly being sent to death. Rather she was using every bit of energy she possessed to not puff and pant her way up the steps.

Her outfit for the day was simple enough, a flowing, baggy sunshine yellow dress. Coincidentally her escort had also decided to base his outfit on the most cheerful colour, deciding on a glaring yellow suit, silver tie and hat.

As Joulie completed her ascension she walked over to Newton for the obligatory hand shake.

They could not have made an odder pair.

Newton was already tall, but compared to Joulie he was practically a giant and even had to bend down to reach her pudgy hands. Everything about him seemed too stick-like, from his height, to his fingers to his limp brown hair.

Joulie almost never interacted with boys as they despised any interaction with her. She knew Newton from around though and he had always managed to impress her with his dedication to his job. If she had to take a journey to her death then at least she had a partner worth travelling with.

 **District 6 Male: Royce Norton's (18) POV:**

"And the District 6 male tribute for this year is… Cooper Monroe!". The 18 year old began to strut up to the stage and Royce started to shake with fear.

As soon as his dad died this kid took over his aviation factory. Not only did he increase production by almost 50% he even managed to start competing with the bigger name airplane brands, like the Capitol's favourites Tesla and Avion Industries.

But if he died in these games that would all stop. The factory would quickly dissolve and Royce's parents would be out of work, meaning they would also be out of food.

Nobody would even be able to buy the business as the only other member of his family, his mother, would instantly sell it to provide her beloved clothing store with much needed funds. And everyone knew that Titan, one of the biggest aircraft brands, would buy it simply for the storage space.

No, if this kid goes then so does his family. Royce made a split second decision. If he had to choose between being stabbed in the back or a slow end through starvation, a quick death would be the way to go. So he decided to volunteer.

Once he announced this he immediately felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Every kid was either staring at him as though he was nuts or trying to stifle a laugh. He could hear what must be his mother's sobs in the background and he could see the smile start to spread over Cooper's face as he bounded off the stage, but he knew what he was doing was the right thing.

Royce was still half questioning his decision when Scooter stumbled into his room in the Justice Building, quickly followed by his parent's.

"Royce you shouldn't have done this, it's not your job to care for the family." His father had begun yelling and Royce, ever the temperamental one, immediately started to argue.

"If I didn't then we would be out of work, out of our house, out of food. We would all end up dead. At least this way it's just me."

At that his father seemed to blush and mumbled something under his breath. Scooter of course took the awkward silence as a chance to step in.

"It doesn't matter, he will win and when he does we will never have to worry about money or food again!".

Oh the innocence of youth.

"Yeah sure mate" Royce replied.

Even though he knew no body else had faith in him he couldn't dash Scooter's hopes so quickly.

"Time's up" announced a Peacekeeper who marched into the room without so much as a knock on the door.

"Come home to me baby, I need you to come home" his mother suddenly sobbed into his shoulders.

"Yeah buddy, please don't give up no matter how bad the odds are" his father said with such resolve that Royce was almost inspired.

The Peacekeeper had begun to drag his mother out by this point, and as they disappeared forever from his life, Royce decided that he would at least make sure his death would be quick. Maybe the Bloodbath? Before he could think about it too much the door was once again thrown open. For the second time Royce was both annoyed and scared. Were they here to take him to the train already? But no, in came Cooper who looked so ashamed he could barely meet his eyes.

"What do you want Cooper?" Royce growled.

Really Cooper's face was the last thing he wanted in his life right now. Even if it was almost illegally gorgeous. I mean with his copper skin, bronze hair and stunning blue eyes how could Royce not notice?

 _'Because now is not the time and Cooper is not the person you should be thinking about like this'_ Royce internally scolded himself. But really, Royce was almost jealous. Royce was ok-looking, but no matter how tanned he was and how much he tried to mop up his curls his body just never seemed to be able to bring it all together.

"I just wanted to come in and apologise. I would hate myself if I didn't at least have the courage to face you one last time before…yeah. I'm sorry I let you take my place," Cooper interrupted Royce's internal monologue with an apology he really wasn't ready for.

"It's fine don't worry about it" replied Royce in a feeble attempt to dismiss it.

Really this whole conversation was awkward and Royce couldn't wait for Cooper to leave.

"Why did you do it?" Cooper asked, his curiosity obviously getting the better of him and therefore stopping him from making a quick escape.

"You know why Cooper. And in exchange I want them to get promotions and as many shifts as they want. Do I have your word?"

"Of course I'll always honour the family of the boy who saved my life. Scooter can even have a job once he's old enough." Replied Cooper in such a sincere voice that Royce almost believed him.

"Time" a Peacekeeper announced for the second time. "Can you guys please knock first?!" Royce yelled, anger finally getting the best of him. He was rewarded with a quick slap to the face. By the time he opened his eyes again Cooper was gone.

 **District 6 Female (15) Karah McLaren**

Our first ever volunteer and it's some skinny, malnourished 18 year old. It would almost be depressing if it weren't so confusing.

Karah impatiently blew a lock of her extremely frizzy hair out of her eyes. Her sister liked to tease her about it constantly, saying that her hair was bigger then her head. In fact she could have sworn she saw her sister smirk up on stage as soon as she attempted to clear her vision.

Being the newest victor Casey was still getting used to her fame. It didn't take her long to adjust to her new lifestyle though, it seemed as if it were only the Capitol citizens that bothered her. But ever since she had won their parents couldn't stop gloating. Sure they had been happy to have her back but the fame quickly got to them as well, eventually leaving them as unloving husks of humans uninterested in

anything but cameras.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed the escort announce her name. She soon figured out that is was her who was chosen as every other girl made a clear path up to the stage for her. Looking up at her sister in fear she saw the exact same terror reflected on her face.

 _'Well at least she's worried for me, that's a start'_ Karah thought to herself as she ascended and shook hands with her district partner, a kid who was already way too resigned about his fate.

Thinking back on the train ride later Karah realised that for all they knew her name was the only one in that bowl. Trust the Capitol to try and make these games as entertaining as possible.


End file.
